Screening: "Football as Never Before" with Simon Critchley

On 12 September 1970, German avant-garde filmmaker Hellmuth Costard embarked on a singular experiment. Filming the soccer match between English teams Manchester United and Coventry, Costard would train eight 16mm cameras exclusively on George Best, the Manchester United star recognized at the time as one of the world's greatest soccer players. The resulting film is a document of the game exclusively through Best's actions and reactions. Eschewing all forms of editing associated with television sports coverage, "Football as Never Before" offers the spectator a unique record of a player's progress through a match and his attempts to "read the game." As the Frankfurter Rundschau commented at the time, the film's concentration on one player actually shows "the true extent to which the sport is all about teamwork."

The screening will be followed by an informal discussion led by philosopher and soccer aficionado Simon Critchley, who has, amongst other things, written on Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's film "Zidane."

Drinks will be served. Prawn cocktails will not be served.

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